Coaches & Instructors

Tigran Shaginian, head coach

Tigran is a four-time Russian national champion. Tigran has been fencing since the age of 7. Winner of the European Championship (1981) in the team competition and several other international tournaments, he earned a place on the Soviet Union's Goodwill Games Pentathlon Team in 1984, proving him to be a top athlete in fencing, shooting, horse riding, running and swimming.

Tigran founded SWORDS in 1997. With over 26 years of competing and coaching experience, his students won two Golds at the Junior Olympics, two National Titles among juniors and cadets, and twice they were representing US National Team in Junior World Championships.

Sanzhar Kettebekov, coach

Sanzhar has over 20 years of coaching and competion experince. He was a member of the National Pentathlon Team of Kazakhstan (former Soviet Union). Sanzhar won Bronze at the National Collegiate Fencing Championships in 1991. He acted as a personal coach at a World Cup series and served as a referee at a number of international and USFA tournaments.

Sanzhar has joined SWORDS coaching staff in 2004. He is teaching beginner and advanced classes.

Jason Pinchuk, coach

A three-time JO qualifier and a PCC semi-finalist, he has won numerous medals of all three colors at divisional and sectional tournaments from So California to Northern Ohio. He was head epee coach at UCLA for a number of years, where the women’s epee club achieved an overall bronze medal for the 2003 season. He mixes a solid technical foundation with a unique, no-nonsense “rock, paper, scissors” tactical system that is easy for students to understand and apply.